Jeff has
been playing the guitar since the
age of seven. He grew up alongside
the influence of a musically
inclined family, particularly his
grandfather Alonzo "Buddy" Howard,
who sang and played guitar in his
own Texas country music band,
"Buddy and the Travelers." As a
boy, he received several years of
classical music instruction on the
piano; however, his guitar skills
were from the very beginning
self-taught.

photo
by Tyler Butrill 2004

Jeff was introduced to
traditional Irish music in 1995, when
he met Texas Irish flute player Larry
Rone. From that point on he began to
make a study of traditional Irish
music generally and more specifically
he focused on what the great
guitarists like Arty McGlynn, Michael O'Dohmnaill,
Daithi Sproule
and Paul Brady were
doing to back the music using
alternate tunings like DADGAD.
Encouraged to pursue an instrumental
involvement with the music, Jeff began
to collaborate with Irish fiddler and
friend Michael McCullough and also
became a regular at Austin tune
sessions, during which time he
developed his own unique style of
accompaniment.

In addition to being a singer,
accompanist, bodhran player,
composer, arranger and producer,
Jeff is also becoming known as an
accomplished instructor,
teaching workshops and
demonstrations at festivals and
music camps as well as providing
private instruction to students in
the Austin TX area.